http://nosuchthingasanopinion.blogspot.com/
He has since expanded to create the current site, in order to increase the level of engagement of readers.
(Here are the rules of the current site).
He ranked 74th in the world in a measure of intelligence, and has a knack for noticing things that others don't. For figuring out things that others can't. Here's how he describes his intelligence:
These are the results from a widely taken intelligence test on Facebook.Notice that "World" and "Monthly" are highlighted. This means these are the top scores in the world during the month previous.
The score I earned while playing that day was 3,575, placing me 74th in the world (I've deleted the pictures, and my own name, for privacy reasons).
The top half of my screen is my overall profile to date. 3,692 is my highest score ever. (this would have ranked me even higher than 74th had I earned that score that day).
If you log into this test on Facebook, you can verify that only users have access to their own profiles-I wouldn't be able to access someone else's profile, so I wouldn't be able to falsify this.
RELIABILITY OF MY SCORE
A few readers have claimed that my having placed 74th in the world on Facebook's intelligence test is not reliable. I will address this below.
First, I bet they didn't take a look at the test itself.
It is not one of those Facebook quizzes that asks you 10 questions and gives you a score between, say, 75 and 150.
The test has twelve subtests, four of which are used to compute your score (you can select the four or let the computer randomly choose the four).
This is what's on the test:
Each subtest has a 60 second time limit. Just like better known tests, it has a time limit, and the answers progress in difficulty. The more questions you answer correctly within the time limit, the higher your score. You get points for a right answer, but also get points deducted for a wrong answer. The tests are designed to measure answer accuracy and mental speed.
These are the twelve subtests:
1) A visual spatial test. Each question shows a scale that holds different items on either side. The scale tips to one side, and you have to choose, from a selection, which item is heavier based on how the scale tips.
This becomes difficult as the questions quickly progress to showing two to four scales at once, with varying numbers and types of items on it, and you need to figure out relations like: first, is the pear heavier than the apple based on their relation to several items and each other on the scales? And then, is the pear heavier than the orange? Two apples may weigh more than one pear, but does that mean one apple weighs more than one pear? Is the pear heavier than one apple? There will be several types of items, four to six, all piled up in different quantities on each scale end of four scales, and you need to figure out which of all the items weighs the most. You select the item from a choice of several items.
2) A visual spatial counting test. Blocks are dropped from the sky into a pile. You need to count how
many there are. The more questions you get correct, the more blocks appear in the next question. The blocks are piled in piles of different heights-some are one high, some piles are two high, some are five high. Some are partially hidden.
3)A visual spatial test. A question has, for example, two cars entering a maze, and two possible exits from the maze. The maze of roads includes about 20-50 turns.
The rule is that as a car drives forward, when it hits a turn in the road the car must turn that way. But it is complicated because there are so many turns, and some turns are only millimetres away from other turns, meaning it’s not easy to quickly get the right answer.
I have an extremely high score on this test. One analysis suggested (but didn’t prove) that my score on this test was ranked tied for 3rd all time in the country! (It’s not conclusive because I looked only at the top 100 overall scores of all four subtests. It’s possible, but less likely, that someone with an overall score outside the top 100 also had a score higher than the top two rankers and I).
4)A math test where you type in the answer. Early questions are easier (like 14+1), and progress to harder questions, like (15*18)-(14*2)=. The questions don’t progress to be extremely difficult, it’s more of a test of mental speed due to the time limit.
5)A math test with questions of the same difficulty level as above, but with one difference. They give you the answer, you need to fill in the missing signs. Eg (12*2) * (8 2)=48. You then choose your answer: either +, -, * or /.
6)A math test. The answer is given. But none of the equation is given. You are given a bunch of numbers to choose from, as well as two to three signs to choose from, in order to complete the equation. Eg: Answer is 12. You are given a 5, 9, 4, 8, 3 *, -, +.
You select from the bunch to get the equation. In this case, it’s 5*4-8=12
7)A memory test. The face of cards are displayed for about one to two seconds. Then they turn over. You need to remember where the matching pairs of cards are and select them in pairs.
This progresses in difficulty until about 16 cards are showing at once.
It also becomes more difficult because each time you match a pair, the location of two other cards switch on the screen, making it more difficult to keep track of where the matching pairs are.
8)A memory test. For about one to two seconds, up to six items are shown on the screen. Once they disappear, you need to recreate the exact order of the items. If you get just one item in the list wrong, you don’t progress.
For example, it might show something like this: pear, apple, apple, dog, fries, hat.
9)A memory test. Have you ever played the game at the carnival where you see things pop up quickly and you have to hit them with a hammer? Well, imagine if you had to recreate the order they appear.
One question shows about eight eggs. A chick pops up quickly (appears for about ¼ of a second) out of one egg. A chick then pops out of the seven other eggs. You have to click on each egg in the order the chick appeared.
10)A visual spatial and memory and math test. About eight circles appear on the screen. They are all moving at one time, and spinning in circles. Each circle has a number in it. You have to click on them in order of smallest number to largest number.
This involves spatial ability by testing your ability to recognize the numbers that are spinning and moving. It involves memory by testing your ability to remember what number was on the other side of the screen that you just browsed. (The more you remember, the quicker you can move).
For example, the circles would show: -43, -41, -4, 10, 11, 35. They would all be spinning and moving, and you’d have to click them in the sequence I listed them. Sometimes they use letters, such as G, X, V, F, N, B.
11)A spatial puzzle. A puzzle is shown with several pieces missing. You have to select the missing pieces from a list and place them in the right spot of the puzzle. This is not easy, because there are many similar looking pieces to choose from, and the pieces you choose from are rotated left or right so that you can’t easily see if they fit.
12)A spatial puzzle. A group of about 16 different items will be shown meshed together, looking like the cells in a bees nest. Then you’ll be provided with a sequence of three items in certain order. You need to find those three items in the bees nest and highlight them. This involves skill, because you might find the first two items but then find that the third item doesn’t connect to them. So you have to look elsewhere in the nest. This tests your mental speed and spatial ability.
Overall, this test measures mathematical ability, spatial ability, memory and mental speed. These are all aspects of intelligence that are measured on traditional, well known tests. In fact, the only aspects of a traditional IQ test that I can think of, off hand, that aren’t measured by this test are verbal questions and logical sequences.
So, is the test a complete test of intelligence? No.
But it definitely measures intelligence, just not EVERY aspect of intelligence.
And if an intelligence test was going to leave out one measure, verbal testing is what you’d want to leave out. Why? Well, many of its questions are subjective, and hence are flawed, because extremely intelligent people can provide a correct answer that is actually marked as incorrect. This is explained here:
http://nosuchthingasanopinion.weebly.com/1/post/2010/10/iq-tests.html
Also, verbal scores are more affected by education (reading) than other types of intelligence, which are more hard wired in the brain (math, memory, spatial etc).
Also, don’t think that my score is so high because I score very high only on the four tests I can select yet score low on the other eight.
My scores are high on every subtest. The test provides “trophies” if you achieve certain scores. I have all 18 trophies (3 other trophies are related to challenging other players and playing on a mobile phone, and I didn’t bother doing any of that).
The trophies are:
For each of the twelve subtests, a trophy is given if you achieve a score of at least 650. I earned them all. My lowest score was 680, the rest were all 704 or over. Four of my scores are 1001 and over!
Another trophy is called the “All-rounder”. It’s given to someone who gets a score of at least 500 on ALL twelve tests. I earned that.
Another trophy is called “Mr. Right”. It’s given to someone who earns a score of 2,600 with ZERO mistakes. I earned that.
The last trophy is called the “Masterful Score Trophy”. It’s given when you score 1,000 points on any of the twelve tests. This, of course, suggests that 1,000 points is rarely achieved. Not only did I earn it, I earned it on FOUR of the twelve tests, with scores of: 1001, 1026, 1078, 1352.
Three other trophies were less meaningful-one for beating all of my friends, and two for the number of games played.
So, I’ve established that the test measures many aspects of intelligence.
Now, was it impressive that I placed 74th in the world on the monthly rankings? Of course! Facebook has 500 million people! How many of them was I being compared to?
Well, 10% of my Facebook friends have taken the test at some time. However, not all of them take it monthly. And perhaps the test isn’t provided in countries that don’t speak English. However, people that score very highly are more likely to retake the test because they are happy with the results and want to increase their ranking.
I think that it would be wrong to say that I was being compared to 10% of Facebook members. I believe that a fair number, which might be slightly low, would be about 0.1% to 1.0% of Facebook.
That’s 500,000 to 5,000,000 members. For me to beat all but 73 of them, that’s impressive.
If the sample was 500,000, that would mean my ranking of 74 meant I beat 499,927 people. That’s the 99.9854th percentile, just barely making the 99.99th percentile. What ranking would I need to achieve to achieve the 99.90th percentile? 500.
I can tell you that before I achieved the ranking of 74th in the world, when my best score was fairly lower, I reasonably might have been ranked lower than 500, which means that if the sample size was only 500,000, my percentile ranking would have been 99.80 or lower (because a rank of 501 out of 500,000 is the 99.8998th percentile. When a percentile is ranked to one decimal place, anything equal to or above 99.8 and below 99.9 falls in the 99.8th percentile. They can't round it up to 99.9 because you didn't actually beat all 99.9. Similarly, when someone has a rank of 99.96, it’s not rounded up to 100.00, because that would mean you beat 100% of the scores, and are the smartest person in the world. Well, that’s not the case with 99.96).
But at the time that my score was probably ranked 501 or below, my Facebook profile ranked me at the 99.9th percentile, not the 99.8th percentile! The only way this could occur is if the sample size was LARGER than 500,000.
You can’t have a ranking of below 500 and be in the 99.9th percentile unless the sample size is larger than 500,000. Here’s an example:
Let’s assume my earlier, lower ranking was 1000.
1000 out of 500,000 is 99.80.
If I had a rank of 1000, to achieve the percentile ranking of 99.90+ that I did, the sample size would have to be at least 1,000,000.
1000 out of 1,000,000 is 99.90.
So, it seems reasonable that the sample size that I ranked 74th among was 1,000,000 or more. (And this 1,000,000 sample size is based on calculations made when my ranking was lower. Since then, more users have joined Facebook, and the sample size was probably even higher when I ranked 74th).
Now, my entire analysis assumed a starting point of 500,000 people (0.1% of Facebook users). If the percentage of Facebook users that took the test in that month was higher or lower than 0.1%, then my final estimate of the sample size I was compared against would be either higher or lower than 1,000,000.
I would say that 0.1% was a conservative estimate, so I figure that the number of people I was being compared against was MORE than 1,000,000.
If 0.2% of Facebook took the test that month, then it was reasonable to believe I was being compared against 2,000,000 people. And so on.
Even more impressive is that the people I beat are probably smarter than the typical Facebook member. Why? Think about it. Who do you think would be more likely to take the test and challenge themselves? Someone who is smart, or someone who is dull? And once the test is taken, who do you think is more likely to keep retaking the test, someone with a high score, or someone with a low score?
Just the fact that somebody is on Facebook likely makes them slightly smarter than average: it means they have a computer, likely have a bit more money than average, and income is linked to IQ. (but the intelligence difference might be small, given that many people are on Facebook-however, thirteen out of every fourteen people worldwide are still not on it).
So, my score is ESPECIALLY impressive. My score is listed on my profile as being in the 99.9th percentile (it doesn’t show more than one decimal place). If it did, I would be able to tell you the exact sample size!
What you have to realize is that if my score places me in the 99.9th percentile as measured against Facebook, since Facebook members are likely smarter than the overall population, if I was to be measured against the overall population my percentile ranking would be even higher, perhaps something like 99.9999.
So I think I’ve proven that my score measures many aspects of intelligence against a huge sample size. I might not be 74th in the entire world, but 74th out of 1,000,000+ people is unbelievably high.
And think about this: even if the test wasn’t a good measure of intelligence….whatever it did measure, I still placed 74th out of 1,000,000 people!
TRADITIONAL RESULTS
For those who want to know how I performed on more traditional tests, here are some results:
During university I placed first or second in the class on several university exams. Such class sizes ranged from about 50 to 300 people. The university I went to is considered Ivy League by some (but not all) people, meaning the competition was tougher than most schools. On one finite mathematics exam, I earned a grade of over 100% (a perfect score plus a bonus question). This meant I beat everyone who took that exam, probably 600 to 1200 people (several classes took that course that year).
After university, I considered going back to school for IT. I took the timed standard admission test, which is half logic (logic trees), and half mathematics.
I was told that I received the highest score in their entire testing history. I received a perfect score on the logic section of the test, answering every single question in the time provided. I don't remember if all of my math answers were correct, but I remember that I didn't finish that section.
